Tag Archives: Unrecognized

How Do You Use Focus and Communication to Strengthen Your Leadership? Three Points

Situation: A CEO is curious about how others have strengthened their leadership skills over time. From discussions with other CEOs she has gathered that focus and communication are important strengths to build. How do you use focus and communication to strengthen your leadership?

Advice from the CEOs:

  • Often the process is more important than the actual decision because the process frames how the decision is made.
    • If the process is open to new ideas and approaches, and these are welcomed in the discussion, this can generate both more creative decisions as well as increased buy-in to the ultimate decision being made.
  • One CEO finds that his company is always focused on the outcome. However, he has grown to understand that it is important to frame the decision-making process around your values.
    • Value-based decisions not only generate increased buy-in by all involved, but they strengthen the sense of company culture and values.
  • Another CEO was faced with a personnel issue. She found that by analyzing past decision-making processes company leadership was able to identify a previously unrecognized factors and processes that fed the personnel issue.
    • By addressing the process, the company was able to resolve the issue to the satisfaction of all.

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How Do You Optimize Your Product Offering? Four Points of Focus

Situation: A CEO wants to take better advantage of his company’s product offering. There are many opportunities available, but the company needs more focus on optimizing these opportunities. How do you optimize your product offering?

Advice from the CEOs:

  • Brand – Where has the company been? Where is it going? The world is constantly changing – what’s the company’s new brand? The brand identifies the company and both your customers’ and business partners’ identification of the company and its products and/or services. In a changing world with increased competition and “noise,” having a strong handle on the brand and brand message is critical to remaining at the top of customers’ and partners’ awareness.
  • Education/Customer Advocacy – An underutilized source of marketing strength includes both customer education and customer advocacy. Customer education allows the company to better position its product and/or service to the customer and helps the customer better meet unrecognized needs. Customer advocacy positions the company along with its customers in an area of mutual interest and strengthens both bonds and loyalty.
  • Diversification & Channels – In a changing and rapidly diversifying world, being open to new opportunities and channels through which to reach the company’s stakeholders is a source of sustainable advantage.
  • Partnerships to Take Advantage of Diversification & Channel Opportunities – Partnerships are an underutilized resource to creatively diversify and open new channels to stakeholders. They require less investment than doing everything on your own and can form the basis for key alliances and strengths going forward.

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How Do You Position a Professional Services Company for Growth? Part 2 Three Suggestions

Situation: The CEO of a professional services company wants to position her company for growth. What suggestions do others have to assist her? How do you position a professional services company for growth?

Advice from the CEOs:

  • Make Time for Organizational Development – Attention to organizational development and enhancing the organization so that it meets the needs of employees can yield significant dividends in terms of company performance and adaptability. When employees’ needs are met, they are motivated to extend their efforts both in performing their current roles and to develop new ideas that will benefit the company. Be sure to recognize these efforts.
  • Temp to Perm (Even for Hiring Leaders) – As the economy recovers there remains a high level of uncertainty as to how robust the recovery will be. In light of this, additions to staff may be approached cautiously. The temp to perm route offers a way for a new individual and the company to get to know one another and to test mutual fit before making a full commitment to permanent employment. This can be true even for positions of significant leadership within the company.
  • Meet the Unrecognized Needs of Customers – The top of the Customer Pyramid is meeting unrecognized needs – needs which the customer may not even know that they have. In a world of increased competition and rapid change, finding ways to understand, anticipate and meet these unrecognized needs of customers yields a significant competitive advantage. Brainstorm with your sales, marketing and customer service teams to identify unrecognized needs of past customers. Use the results to identify unrecognized needs of current and new customers.

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